ruth

Message Theme & Verses: Ruth

Memory Verse: Ruth 1:16 Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my God.

The story of Ruth happens during the time of the Judges and is a contrast to the faithlessness of the people of Israel. This is a story of faithfulness, kindness, and redemption in the midst of famine, moral collapse, and chaos where everyone did what was right in his own eyes. We saw the need for a godly king in Judges and now we will get a glimpse into where that king will come from.

Ruth is a classic love story exalting virtuous womanhood and strong manhood. There is both a hero and a heroine in the story as Ruth is kind and loyal and Boaz is a man who embodies the character of the Lord.

We are going to read the whole story of Ruth today. Here are some themes we can be looking for.

1. Kindness – We will see Ruth and Boaz showing kindness, reflecting the steadfast love of God.

2. Emptiness to Fullness – The story of Naomi frames the story of Ruth. In the beginning, Naomi loses everything and we see how God fills up His empty people at the end. Look for other opposites in the story such as; dead to living, seeking rest to finding rest, and bitterness to pleasant.

3. God’s Sovereignty – Elimelech moves his family out of the Promised Land and lets his sons marry Moabite women. However, God is working even in their sin and is drawing his chosen daughter to Himself. We see her faith and how God is grafting Gentiles into the people of God, even into the lineage of the Messiah. Despite famine, war, and idolatry, God is preserving His people.

4. Redemption – God uses the Hebrew cultural practice of redemption to show His great love. A person or his property could be bought back and restored by the kinsman-redeemer whose duty is was to take care of the situations.

Read Ruth

Jesus in Ruth

The story ends with the words “and Jesse fathered David.” This is of course King David, the godly king that the people needed. He was the most beloved king in Israel’s history, but even his background is not the main point of this book. Just as the women in the story declare that Naomi has a redeemer, a son the Lord has given her, the angels will declare to the shepherd the birth of the “Savior who is Christ the Lord.” All of God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus, the son of David, the Son of God. We also see Jesus’ kindness and faithfulness in the character of Ruth and Jesus’ role as redeemer through Boaz.

Questions

1. If you were able to change your name to reflect your personality, what would it be?

2. What is your favorite love story?

3. Why do you think it was so bad for Naomi to lose her husband and sons? (Life was difficult for widows in ancient times. They could not get jobs and would have no one to care for them. A widow without the protection of a man might have to sell herself into slavery or prostitution. This was true even until Jesus’ time and God always commanded His people to care for widows. The early church had a special fund to care for widows.)

4. What is the difference between Orpha and Ruth? (God chose to give faith to Ruth. This faith enabled Ruth to take the risk of leaving her homeland and to make a sacrifice to care for her mother-in-law. Orpha stayed instead with her people and her gods.)

5. Who in the story do you think is most like Jesus and why?

6. What are some ways that God cared for Ruth and Naomi? (He set up the laws for gleaning, Levirate marriage, and the kinsman redeemer. He gave Boaz a kind and generous heart. He gave Naomi the wisdom to send Ruth to Boaz. He gave Ruth courage to approach Boaz. He attached the land of Elimelech to Ruth so the closer relative would reject redeeming it. He gave them baby Obed.)

7. Why do you think it is important that Ruth is included in Jesus’ genealogy? (There are three foreign women in Jesus’ genealogy; Tamar, Rahab, the mother of Boaz, and Ruth. God is showing here that Jesus is the Savior not to only the Jewish people, but to all the people of the world.)